Intermittently revolvable table laundry press



p 1952- R. P. GUDGEON INTERMITTENTLY REVOLVABLE TABLE LAUNDRY PRESS Filed Feb. 27, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 b INVE/VTUR 41 Ronald I? Gudgeon BY W ATTORNEY Sept. 9, 1952 R. P. GUDGEON INTERMITTENTLY REVOLVABLE TABLE LAUNDRY PRESS Filed Feb. 27. 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIVI/EIVTOR Ronald P Gudgeon B) Mfg ATTORNEY Sept. 9, 1952 R. P. GUDGEON 2,609,

INTERMITTENTLY REVOLVABLE TABLE LAUNDRY PRESS Filed Feb. 27, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l/VVE/VTOR Ronald E Guclgeon A TTORNEY Patented Sept. 9,1952

TENT OFFICE INTERMIEITT ENTLY REVOIiVABLE TABLE} LAUNDRY PRESS Ronald Percy Gudgecn, Luton, England Application February 27, 1948, Serial No. 11,803

In Great Britain November 9, 1945 V l .The present invention relates to intermittently revolvable-table laundry presses in which a table or tables, is or are rotated or otherwise caused to move in a path away from and towards the press head for loading and unloading the table or tables.

The invention is more particularly concerned with that type of press in which a pair of members either in the form of laundry tables are mounted to rotate about a vertical axis to be positioned in turn beneath a press head where the pressing or other operation takes place.

011 previous types of laundry presses it has been proposed to fit a device for rotation of the tables in which the arm carrying the tables has applied to it an initial thrust by means of a spring loaded lever or air loaded piston which carries the table through the required 189 of the revolution.

A defect of this device lies in the regulation in the amount of thrust easily to control the table the operator having frequently toexert a certain amountof energy in stopping the table in the correct position.

An object or the present invention is to provide on a twin press of the type referred to a positive drive which carries the tables round and locates them in the required position beneath the press head.

Broadly the invention comprises the provision automatically to move the table from beneath the press head to the point of to receive a further load.

In a preferred construction applied more par ticularly to a press for laundry purposes a pair of tables are rotatably mounted about a centre axis and diametrically opposite to one another to be located in turn beneath a stationary press head, the table beneath the press head is, when in position, lifted automatically against the. press head by suitable means, for example by fluid pressure. When the table is retracted from the press head the table, table ram, or some .other part of the table assembly which moves with the table is adapted to operate automatically the means for rotating the tables so as to move the table beneath the press head, away therefrom and to bring the table being loaded into position beneath the press head.

The operation of the rotation of the tables about the centre axis is efiectedpreferably by fluid pressure, for example compressed air, workdischarge ready 3 Claims. (01. 38-22) axis by means of a rack and a train of gears through the intermediary of a pawl and ratchet echanism. The compressed. air pistons may beso adjusted that the tables receive a drive through the whole of their travel or through only a part of the travel, the thrust in this case being only suflicient for the tables to complete the remainder of their travel. 1

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a twin table type laundry press incorporating the present invention in elevation partly in section;

Figure 2 shows a part of thepress in plan also partly broken away;

Figure 3 shows in enlarged scale a detail of the mechanism; and

the table raising mechanism, when the table reaches a correct location beneath the press head; The correct location is obtained by means of a compressed air loadedroller which indexes in a cam. The cam in this instance is modified to prevent vibration on auto rotation andconsists of a lower or main cam plate 21, and an upper camplate 28 secured thereto, the main cam plate 21 being fixedly mounted upon the table support or swing. arm it (Figure 3).

The drive provided. in the present invention is .fiuid pressure operated and in the press described hereinafter the fluid pressure is provided by compressed air.

- -In the operation of this" type of press, the

tables A areadapted to. be operatedby means of. a ram, which is operated by compressed air, the operation of the ram being automatic when each table A is correctly located beneath the press head B. To incorporate the movement of the present invention, a fluid pressure operated plunger I working in a cylinder 2, of a comparatively small bore, is so arranged that it contacts the table ram piston 3. A constant pressure compressed air supply is connected by pipingEt, to the head of said cylinder 2. When the ram cylinder is exhausted in the manner described in the forementioned co-pending specification', the pressure exerted on the plunger 1 in its cylinder assists the retraction of the table ram piston. When the plunger is fully extended, it uncovers a port 4 in the wall of its cylinder, this port being connected by suitable piping 5, to the rotation or drive cylinder 6. In this cylinder a fiuid pressure operated piston I operates. This piston is a combination piston l, rack 8 and secondary piston 9, the latter being dealt with hereinafter. Upon release of compressed air through port 4 to cylinder 6, the piston 1 is driven forward carrying with it the rack 9. This rack is arranged to drive a spur gear l0, which carries a spring loaded pawl II. This pawl engages with ratchet I2, which isintegral with intermediate spur gear 13. This intermediate gear meshes with spur gear 14 Which is keyed to shaft l5, this shaft carrying the arm I 6 upon which the tables A are supported, and is also the fulcrum about which the tables rotate. By this train of gears, the movement imparted to piston 1 by compressed air, is conveyed to shaft 15 and rotates the tables through 180.

When the forementioned piston l is driven forward, being integral with secondary piston 9, the secondary piston 9 is driven back into its cylinder [1. This cylinder is connected to common supply of compressed airby means of suitable piping l8, but, being of smaller bore than drive cylinder 6 the piston 9 can be driven back against this pressure.

To prevent a build-up of pressure in the pipework, a breather valve is arranged in the cylinder IT. This valve consists of the breather l9 and stop fitted in such a manner that the breather completely covers the compressed air supply port 2!. This opens to allow compressed air to enter the cylinder, but upon pressure rising in cylinder l1 due to piston 9 being driven back, the breather completely shuts off the port. This pressure build-up provides a cushion for the piston and prevents sudden, violent drive being imparted to rotate the tables. (Figure 4 shows the construction of the breather valve.)

It will be understood that the length of the cylinder I1 is such as to provide a sufiicient volume of air between the breather valve and the piston 9 when at the limit of its inward movement in the cylinder, so that the force exerted on the piston 9 by the air in the cylinder I1 i at all times less than the force exerted by the compressed air supply upon the larger-diameter piston 1.

The above description shows how a complete 180 drive can be imparted to the tables. If it is necessary, however, to introduce a safety device to prevent the operator, or any person. from being injured by coming into contact with the tables during rotation thereof, this is done by providing actual positive drive, for a specific period only, of the 180 movement of tables. This is eifected by an adjustable stop 22 with which piston 9 comes into contact. The drive imparted over the desired period of movement, carries the tables on to the location under the head, whilst rack 8, pistons 1 and 9 and pawl I! are immobile owing to piston 9 being in contact with stop 22, the ratchet idling round. During the time the tables are moving but the pistons are immobile it is possible for the operator to retard the movement of the tables if so desired.

When a table is located in position under the head B, and upward pressure applied to it automatically by means of the ram, the ram piston 3 moves into its uppermost position. This drives the plunger 1 up into its cylinder, which being of smaller bore than the ram cylinder, provides little resistance to movement. The plunger 1, being raised to its uppermost position, cuts off constant supply compressed air from port 4, and opens port 4 to communicate by way of the interior of the plunger cylinder with exhaust port 23 which is open to atmosphere through exhaust pipe 24. This being so, the compressed air in cylinder 6 is now open to atmosphere by way of piping 5, port 4 through port 23 and exhaust pipe 24.

When the pressure in cylinder 6 drops, piston 9 is driven forward in its cylinder 11 by the pressure in cylinder i1, This drives piston 1 and 9, rack 8 and pawl H idly back into their initial position, the piston 1 coming to a stop against stop 25 in drive cylinder 6, ready for the next cycle of rotation; at the same time pawl H idles round. The spur gears, ratchet and pawl are so arranged, that the pawl engages a tooth on the ratchet when pistons and rack are in initial position and table located under head.

When the ram cylinder is exhausted by means of normal control the cycle of operations is repeated.

What I claim is:

1. An intermittently revolvable table laundry press comprising an intermittently rotatable vertical shaft, a cross arm at the upper end of said shaft rotatable therewith, vertically movable tables carried in end portion of said arm, a fixed head above one indexed position of the tables with one tabl at a time alined beneath said head, a fluid pressure operated ram piston and ram cylinder therefor alined with said head and table indexed under said head for operating said table in vertical movement thereof, a plunger cylinder fixed with respect to and opposed to said ram cylinder, a plunger in said plunger cylinder in parallelism to said ram piston and in engagement therewith, said plunger having lesser area than said ram piston and being under continuous fiuid pressure opposed to fluid pressure of operation of said ram piston thereby retracting said ram piston to retracted position on release of fluid pressure of operation on said ram piston, a fluid pressure indexing operating means for rotating said shaft and revolving the tables, said plunger also constituting a valve for admitting fluid pressure from said plunger cylinder to said shaft indexing operating means in coordination with retraction of said ram piston.

2. An intermittently revolvable table laundry press comprising an intermittently rotatable vertical shaft, a cross arm at the upper end of said shaft rotatable therewith, vertically movable tables carried in end portions of said arm, a fixed head above one indexed position of the tables with one table at a time alined beneath said head, a fluid pressure operated ram piston and ram cylinder therefor alined with said head and table indexed under said head for operating said table in vertical movement thereof, a plunger cylinder fixed with respect to and opposed to said ram cylinder, a plunger in said plunger cylinder, said plunger being movable in said plunger cylinder in parallelism to said ram piston and in engagement therewith, said plunger having lesser area than said ram piston and being under continuous fluid pressure opposed to fluid pressure of operation of said ram piston thereby retracting said ram piston to retracted position on release of fluid pressure of operation on said ram piston, a fluid pressure indexing operating means for rotating said shaft and revolving the tables, said plunger cylinder having an inlet port adjacent one end thereof and continuously open to fluid pressure, said plunger cylinder having and exhaust port adjacent the other end thereof, and said plunger cylinder having a further port intermediate of the length thereof and connected to said fluid pressure indexing operating means for rotating the shaft and revolving the tables, whereby said indexing operating means is connected to fluid pressure or to exhaust depending upon the position of said plunger within said plunger cylinder.

3. An intermittently revolvable table laundry press comprising an intermittently unidirectionally rotatable vertical shaft, a cross arm at the upper end of said shaft rotatable therewith, vertically moveable tables carried in end portions of said arm, a fixed head above one indexed position of the tables, a fluid pressure operated ram piston alined with said head and table indexed therewith for operating said 'table in vertical movement thereof, valve means operatively connected to said ram piston for controlling the operation of fluid pressure means for rotating said shaft when the ram piston is in retracted position, said shaft rotating means comprising a 2 fluid-pressure operated piston, a rack and train of gears from said shaft-rotating piston to said 6 g shaft, and a pawl and ratchet mechanism incorporated in the train of gears, whereby the shaft-rotating piston is permitted to return to its initial position after effecting rotation of the shaft, and fluid-pressure means for efiecting return of saidshaft-rotating piston to its initial position.

RONALD PERCY GUDGE ON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,968,990 Carlson s Aug, 7, 1934 2,050,612 Johnson -1 Aug. 11, 1936 2,171,566 Hyde Sept. 5, 1939 2,174,569 'Dinzl Oct. 3, 1939 2,198,224 Neckel Apr. 23, 1940 2,202,483 Dewey May 28, 1940 2,215,795 Pearson et a1. Sept. 24, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 499,609 Great Britain Jan. 26, 1939 

